WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 17, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing affordability hit a new record high for a second consecutive quarter in the first three months of this year, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released today. Yet tight lending conditions continue to pose a major obstacle to many prospective home buyers

Tight Credit Remains Primary Obstacle for Buyers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 17, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Nationwide housing affordability hit a new record high for a second consecutive quarter in the first three months of this year, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released today. Yet tight lending conditions continue to pose a major obstacle to many prospective home buyers.

The latest HOI data reveal that 77.5 percent of all new and existing homes that were sold in this yearâ€™s first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $65,000. This beats the previous record set in the final quarter of 2011, when 75.9 percent of homes sold were affordable to median-income earners.

â€śHomes in this yearâ€™s first quarter were more affordable than they have been at any time in more than 20 years, yet many potential sales are not happening because of overly tight lending conditions that are keeping hardworking families from obtaining a suitable mortgage,â€ť said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. â€śWithout this significant hurdle, the housing and economic recovery could be proceeding at a much stronger pace.â€ť

The most affordable major housing market in this yearâ€™s first quarter was Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind., where 95.8 percent of homes sold during the period were affordable to households earning the areaâ€™s median family income of $66,900.

Also ranking among the most affordable major housing markets in respective order were Dayton, Ohio; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.; Modesto, Calif.; Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.; and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.; the latter two of which tied for fifth place.

Among smaller housing markets, Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. topped the affordability chart for the first time in this yearâ€™s first quarter. There, 99 percent of homes sold during the first quarter were affordable to families earning the areaâ€™s median income of $53,000. Other smaller housing markets at the top of the index include Fairbanks, Alaska; Wheeling, W.Va.; Kokomo, Ind.; and Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill., respectively.

In New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., which retained the title of the least affordable major housing market for a 16th consecutive quarter, just 31.5 percent of homes sold in the first three months of this year were affordable to those earning the areaâ€™s median income of $68,200.

Other major metros at the bottom of the affordability chart included San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.; Honolulu; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif., respectively.

Ocean City, N.J., was the least affordable smaller housing market on the list, with 45.9 percent of homes sold in the first quarter affordable to families earning the median income of $71,100. Other small metros at the bottom of the list included Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.; Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.; and Laredo, Texas.

Please visit www.nahb.org/hoi for tables, historic data and details.

EDITORâ€™S NOTE: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index is a measure of the percentage of homes sold in a given area that are affordable to families earning that areaâ€™s median income during a specific quarter. Prices of new and existing homes sold are collected from actual court records by First American Real Estate Solutions, a marketing company. Mortgage financing conditions incorporate interest rates on fixed- and adjustable-rate loans reported by the Federal Housing Finance Board.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo HOI is strictly the product of NAHB Economics, and is not seen or influenced by any outside party prior to being released to the public.

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